This week the Needs Assessment and Service Co-ordination Association (NASCA) held its national forum. According to its website, "NASCA provides leadership, assistance and peer support to NASC agencies throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand. NASC services are contracted by the Ministry of Health or District Health Boards to serve people with disabilities, people with mental health issues and older people needing age-related support."

I was invited to present the keynote plenary session on the first morning, providing a client's perspective. This, I explained in my introduction, was interesting given my well-known disdain for the NASC process. I assumed therefore, that I hadn't been invited to give a pep talk — instead, I offered some critical analysis, drawing on the following model:

curiosity — an eagerness to gather information and be open-minded

skepticism — the comitment to question the information gathered

humility — the willingness to change one's view

I asked my audience to embrace this mindset, as well as promising to do the same.